pax
by stanzas
Summary: "let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me" ;; or the one where she thinks it will be another christmas spent alone and his time away has been a lifetime.


**summary**: "let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me" (pax means peace in latin im so good at making creative titles ha sue me)

**a/n**- (belated) birthday/christmas present for my friend caity (ppyrrhanikos on tumblr and caitycain on here) and she wanted jason/piper so i gave her that and trio fluff sorry i got off topic but i have trouble with these two and idk why i just need to add in someone else to make it work lmao

i have no idea what im writing anymore /laughs and then cries/

* * *

_**.pax.**_

She woke to the sound of shrill sound of sirens.

"Dammit," she tossed the covers off her half-made bed and an empty slot where someone else would usually sleep. The sirens wailed louder. "dammit." Her feet skipped over the icey cold tiles of her kitchen and to the heater by the wall and cranked up the knob. It rattled to life and coughed several times before rushing warm air spurted out the top. She breathed a sigh of relief. The alarm persisted several more times and sent shrill shrieks through the rest of the house. Then she tore open a packet of creamer and started the coffee. Hopefully some caffeine would be able to cut through her morning haze.

Piper ran upstairs to retrieve a bathrobe and slippers, as in her haste, forgot them, and her house is a freakin' meatlocker in the winter. She hit her alarm clock that was making fire siren noises to turn it off, and it sputtered a few more low toned shrieks before flickering off. Great. She'd need someone to fix that (again). After leisurely putting her hair up in a lazy bun over the top of her head and several locks still spilling out, she walked to the guest room across the hall with one current occupant.

"Valdez!" she banged on the door several times. "You decent?"

A muffled groan from somewhere in the depths of the dragon's cavern. She grinned and peeked the door open just a tad to let a filter of light shine through. She saw the curve of Leo's back under the sheets and pulling them tighter over his head. "Wake up! It's Christmas, you meathead!"

Leo tossed a pillow at the door. More groaning. Dodging more flying pillow assailants, she made her way to his bed to shake him. "I made coffee."

"I'm up!" Leo shot out of bed and raced downstairs, nearly running over his friend in the process. Piper laughed. She padded her way back to the stairs and into the kitchen.

* * *

His breath made frosty tendrils of smoke curl out of his mouth, his nose. His fingers were numb from holding onto his gun and clenching and unclenching his fists to keep the blood moving to his arms. It was too cold for this.

Somewhere in the lines he heard people coughing, and some yelling, and then quiet again. He raised his gun and tapped it twice on the ground in respect. Someone stepped forward in the snow to face Jason.

"Grace." Commander's voice rang out in the snowy courtyard.

"Sir." He nodded curtly.

His commander was wearing a blue cap and matching coat, buttons in a perfectly straight military line down the middle. He looked him up and down, and then just muttered "stop smiling" and continued down the line.

Jason's grin only grew at the comment. There was nothing that could have wiped the beaming curve of his mouth off his face. He was going home.

* * *

Leo passed her a mug of coffee after she sat down at the tiny round oak table in the corner of the kitchen, pulled up a chair and then sat his head on the heater. Piper kicked him under the table and he groaned. "It's cold," he mumbled.

"Get off my heater, if it breaks again you're fixing it."

"Don't I always fix it?" Leo grumbled.

Piper was considering making pancakes for the both of them before presents, but a sharp bell chime silenced the house.

Leo and her met eyes. "Does anybody usually ring at this hour?"

"No," Piper glanced upwards like she was searching her memory for an example of one.

"Alright then," Leo pulled a gun out of nowhere and approached the door.

"Leo!" she hissed. "Look before you shoot, don't kill my neighbors!"

"I dunno, the bloke next door is a pain in my ass, wouldn't mind putting a bullet through him."

"_Leo_!"

"I'm kidding, sheesh!"

He tucked the gun behind his back. Opened the door. Piper crept behind the stairs and remained hidden from sight with a dagger pressed to her side. A few words exchanged, "Merry Christmas!" and the door shutting quietly.

Leo appeared behind the stairwell banister with a puzzled expression and a present in his hand. "Your neighbors into secret santas or something?"

"No," Piper said for the second time that day.

"Put it under the tree, I guess," Leo shrugged and tossed it under the pitiful looking wreath standing on a pole in the center of the living room. There was a roll of duct tape holding the whole thing together, attached to a mop, with a bucket as the tree holder. Several beer cans were strung across the side like a string of lights, but none of them were dedicated or had money to buy a nice set. A glow stick was stabbed in the center of the wreath, and the entire christmas setting looked half-hearted with a pathetic pile of presents around the bucket.

Jason had put it up before he left as a joke, and neither of them had the heart to take it down. And they were lazy. And had work to do. So. It stayed.

* * *

Outside the subway station, snow began to drift downwards in lazy patterns and swirls. He tucked a file of pictures out of his wallet and shuffled through them as he waited for the station to board. He flipped through the first few with a small smile.

Near the bottom, a hazy picture of himself and a gorgeous girl with kaleidoscope eyes sat next to each other in a bar. Leo's finger covered the top part of the photo and blurred out the edge, but his smile grew wider and softer.

_"Station 4C Red Chicago boarding for..."_

Right. He tucked the pictures away._ Man on a mission._ He had somewhere to be.

* * *

Leo got a few giftcards to a coffee shop down the road, along with a new toolbelt (they had a strict 'no magic objects' rule in the Chicago area) and a receipt with the script out to a new motorbike that Piper and Jason had noticed Leo checking out months before.

Piper got a handcrafted bracelet with a hidden dagger ("Leo they said this stuff attracts monsters" "yeah well this is just plain silver, incase you get into a street fight or shit I dunno just shut the hell up and take the damn bracelet you ungrateful ass") and a black beanie from Leo. Four presents under the "tree" were left unopened with a nametag for someone not there. They had no idea when he might be coming home so they would probably end up sitting there until, probably, July or something ("It's christmas, christmas, christmas in July!" "shut the hell up, Valdez").

As Piper stared at the presents and tried to keep her thoughts away from the missing member of the trio, Leo moved to get more coffee from the kitchen.

The doorbell rang again. Probably more carolers or neighbors with cookies and holiday gifts, so she went to the door.

Unlocking the key, she pulled the handle and braced herself with a half-hearted smile for whoever was there, and paused.

Then screamed.

* * *

Jason stood there with a giant grin on his face and a military cap tucked under his arm. He was still wearing his uniform and his bag hanging off the side of his arm.

The door opened and he was unsurprised to see Piper there - afterall, it was their apartment before he left, and he'd been hoping they hadn't moved since then - but the earsplitting shriek that came after knocked him off guard. He'd been away home too long, and screams made him think of bomb shells and gun firing and explosions. Then someone tackled him to the ground. He ended up with his back pressed against wet cold snow and some of it slipping under his jacket in an uncomfortable position.

When he became conscious of the kisses peppering his face frantically he grabbed her waist and lifted her above him. Piper screamed again, delighted, surprised, and yanked their mouths together to kiss him right.

Piper helped pick his stuff off the ground, but her smile was worth it; grinning like she had won the world's greatest lottery and her eyes lit up as bright as christmas tree. Leo appeared at the open door with a steak knife and a panicked expression. "I heard screams what's going-" then he saw who was standing in the snow and dropped the knife. Ran to Jason. Hugged him and Piper at the same time and clapped Jason rather roughly on the back.

"Damn," Leo said after he'd released him. "damn. When did it cross your mind to tell us you were coming today?"

"Christmas miracle," Jason shot back a grin. "I'm the best christmas present you're getting all year, Valdez."

"Shoot, I really was hoping for a car."

"You got a motorcycle, shut up," even a scowl couldn't erase the pure ecstatic delight off Piper's face.

Jason grinned "Happy to see you guys too," and hefted up the bag in his hands. "Mind taking this in for me? I need a moment with someone."

He tossed the bag to Leo, who groaned and stumbled when he caught it.

"Damn," Leo said. "You keeping your entire weapons collection in here or something?"

"Maybe." He shared a significant look with Piper.

"Right, right, yeah, I'm going, I can tell when two people need some alone time." Leo went back in the house and picked up the steak knife. "Make sure you use protection."

Jason wrapped an arm around Piper and laughed, and kissed her again. He felt like someone was filling his stomach with helium and making everything feel like he was about to take a step and suddenly start floating towards the clouds. Which, was technically possible because he was Jason Grace and was fully capable of bending winds and flying. So. (His life is messed up, okay?)

Piper looked like she was planning to ask a question but he swallowed it and kissed her again. She pressed a smile against his mouth and sighed.

"Your home for good?" She asked him calmly, nonchalant, but there was a hard edge to her voice as if preparing for an answer she wouldn't like.

"Yeah," Jason said, and glanced at the apartment. It was pretty small, the shutters falling apart, and he noticed he'd have to repair the dome of the roof in the spring but - yeah. Home. Leo included. Well, hopefully not living with them forever, but he'd be welcome too, just -nah. He'd figure it out later.

Piper tugged his hand to lead him inside. "We got you presents to open." She smiled again and he kissed his cheek and he managed to make his smile wider without breaking his cheeks. He'd missed this - his apartment, the city air, her smile - but this, this made it all worth it. Why he'd kept fighting in the first place. Dreaming about coming back to it and holding the pictures of his friends and her smile before he went to bed. Now it was real and he felt fantastic.

"Sounds wonderful," he said, and joined her inside.

* * *

..


End file.
